Object location system and method thereof

ABSTRACT

A system and method for locating an object is provided. A locating circuit substantially secured to the object. A plurality of monitoring units are positioned remotely from the locating circuit, each positioned in a different location. An omnidirectional signal is intermittently communicated between the locating circuit and the plurality of monitoring units. A calculator is in communication with each of the plurality of monitoring units. The calculator determines a duration of transmission time of the omnidirectional signal for each of the plurality of monitoring units, and the locating circuit. The calculator calculates a location of the locating circuit using the determined duration of transmission time for each of the plurality of monitoring units and the locating circuit.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.61/466,246 entitled, “Object Location System and Method Thereof,” filedMar. 22, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is generally related to locating objects and moreparticularly is related to an object location system and method thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Determining the location of an object or a person within or proximate toa structure is a feature that many industries, companies and individualsdesire. Within various industries, determining the location of an objectin a timely and accurate manner may save money and time, but may alsominimize the risk of injury or a security breach. For example, intoday's hospitals and medical facilities locating systems are used todetermine the approximate location of infants and the elderly. When ababy is born, a security tag is attached to their leg to preventabduction of the infant during their stay at the hospital. When anabductor attempts to remove the infant from the hospital, proximitysensors may signal an alarm to sound. Similar systems are used innursing homes to prevent residents with mental handicaps from exitingthe building without authorization. Many industries do not have locatingsystems in use, due to their expense and inconvenience in using them.For example, malls and shopping centers commonly only provide stationarymaps with an indication of where the map is located relative to thebuilding.

These current systems may include a real-time locating system (RTLS),which may facilitate locating an object within a building. These systemsoperate by utilizing a number of different techniques, including sendingpinging signals, RFID technology, ultrasound and other conventionallocating technologies. Similarly, GPS may be used for locating objectsin certain instances. However, these current systems are expensive andmay only work under specific conditions. For example, GPS may fail towork when the satellite signal is lost, such as when the GPS receiver iswithin a tunnel. Likewise, the proximity sensors used in hospitals mayonly indicate the presence of a security tag, and fail to provide anyfurther information.

Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to addressthe aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and method forlocating an object. Briefly described, in architecture, one embodimentof the system, among others, can be implemented as follows. A locatingcircuit is substantially secured to the object. A plurality ofmonitoring units are positioned remotely from the locating circuit, eachpositioned in a different location. An omnidirectional signal isintermittently communicated between the locating circuit and theplurality of monitoring units. A calculator is in communication witheach of the plurality of monitoring units, the calculator determining aduration of transmission time of the omnidirectional signal between eachof the monitoring units and the locating circuit and calculating alocation of the locating circuit using the determined duration oftransmission time for each of the monitoring units and the locatingcircuit.

The present disclosure can also be viewed as providing a method oflocating an object. In this regard, one embodiment of such a method,among others, can be broadly summarized by the following steps:substantially securing a locating circuit to the object; remotelypositioning a plurality of monitoring units from the locating circuit,wherein each of the plurality of monitoring units is positioned in adifferent location; intermittently communicating an omnidirectionalsignal between the locating circuit and each of the monitoring units;determining a duration of transmission time of the omnidirectionalsignal for each of the monitoring units and the locating circuit; andcalculating a location of the locating circuit using the determinedduration of transmission time of the omnidirectional signal for each ofthe monitoring units and the locating circuit.

The present disclosure can also be viewed as a system for locatingand/or tracking an object within a structure. Briefly described, inarchitecture, one embodiment of the system, among others, can beimplemented as follows. A locating circuit substantially secured to theobject. The locating circuit has an omnidirectional signal that isintermittently transmitted. At least three sensors are each positionedin a distinct, substantially stationary location. The at least threesensors are located in at least two vertical planes, wherein the atleast three sensors receive the omnidirectional signal. A calculator isin communication with each of the at least three sensors, wherein thecalculator determines an elapsed time between an emission time of theomnidirectional signal by the locating circuit and receiving time of theomnidirectional signal at each of the at least three sensors andcalculates a location of the locating circuit using the determinedelapsed time for each of the at least three sensors. A display elementdisplays a graphical representation of the structure, wherein thecalculated location of the locating circuit is expressed in at leastthree dimensions, relative to the graphical representation of thestructure.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with referenceto the following drawings. The components in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustration of a system for locating anobject, in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustration of a system for locating anobject, in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the graphical depiction of a navigatablestructure with the system for locating an object, in accordance with thesecond exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating method of locating the object, inaccordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating method of locating the object of FIG.4, in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustration of a system 10 for locating anobject, in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The system 10 for locating an object, which may also bereferred to throughout this disclosure as the system 10, includes alocating circuit 20 substantially secured to an object 12 being located.A plurality of monitoring units 30 is positioned remotely from thelocating circuit 20, wherein each of the plurality of monitoring units30 is positioned in a different location. An omnidirectional signal 40is intermittently communicated between the locating circuit 20 and theplurality of monitoring units 30. A calculator 60 in communication witheach monitoring unit 30 may determine a duration of transmission time ofthe omnidirectional signal 40 between each of the monitoring units 30and the locating circuit 20 and calculate a location of the locatingcircuit 20 using the determined duration of transmission time for eachof the monitoring units 30 and the locating circuit 20.

The system for locating and/or tracking an object 10 may be used in avariety of industries where it is desirable to locate and track anobject. In many industries, such as the health care industry, forexample, it is desirable to know where a specific object is located at aspecific time, whether an individual or a medical device. Conventionalsystems used within certain industries today, like the health careindustry, generally include devices that utilize a plurality oftransmitters affixed to people or objects and a plurality of proximitysensors that sense when the transmitter is located nearby. These devicesare commonly used to prevent the unauthorized transportation of aninfant within a maternity ward of a hospital, or the unauthorized exitof an elder care facility by a resident. Although these devices aresuccessful at detecting the proximity of a transmitter to an accesspoint, they fall short of providing a significant amount of otherinformation that is pertinent to the location of the human or object.

For example, conventional locating devices are only capable ofdetermining a location of the transmitter relative to the proximitysensor. Accordingly, a proximity sensor on an exit or entrance doorwaymay be able to sense a nearby transmitter, but it is incapable ofdetermining whether the transmitter is located on the exit side of thedoorway or the entrance side of the doorway. Likewise, in a multi-storybuilding, a doorway proximity sensor on the third floor may detect atransmitter that is located on the fourth floor, directly above thedoorway proximity sensor's location on the third floor. This may resultin many false positive determinations of locations, i.e., an indicationthat the transmitter is about to be moved through the doorway, when infact it is not even on the same floor as the doorway. The system forlocating an object 10 described in accordance with this disclosure mayreplace and/or work in conjunction with these conventional locatingdevices.

The system 10 may be used in any industry, field, or setting, for anynumber of applications where locating and/or tracking an object isdesirable. Primarily, the system 10 may provide significant benefitswithin the health care industry, including within hospitals, medicalcenters, doctors offices, nursing homes, retirement homes and any othermedical facility. Additionally, the system 10 may be useful in at-homemedical applications, medical rehabilitation applications, and physicaltherapy applications, just to name a few. The system 10 of the firstembodiment, and all additional embodiments, are described in thisdisclosure in relation to medical facilities, namely hospitals or largemedical buildings. However, the system 10 may also be used in any otherindustry, such as the retail industry, entertainment industry, etc.,without reservations.

The system 10 may be considered a real-time locating system (RTLS),which may be used to locate, track and identify an object in real time.In accordance with this disclosure, “real-time”as used with a RTLS maybe characterized as occurring at substantially an actual and true timeor event, or in occurrence with the specific time of an actual eventoccurring. In other words, the system 10 may be capable of determining alocation of an object 12 in such a brief time period that the locationof the object 12 that the system 10 provides is substantially the sameas the location of the object 12 when it is first sensed or determinedby the system 10. However, as those skilled in the art are aware,various factors may cause slight delays or insignificant changes in aRTLS system. These may include delays of fractions of a second due tocomputer processing, device functions, transmission times, and similarfactors. These delays or changes in a RTLS are expected and do nothinder the functionality of the RTLS.

The system 10 may be used to locate any number or type of objects 12,which may include locating human beings, movable or non-movableequipment, packages in transportation or storage, or any other type ofobject. For example, the system 10 may locate a patient or a doctorwithin a medical facility, a wheelchair being used to transport apatient, a package of medicine in storage or a visitor to a medicalfacility. In other industries, the system 10 may be capable of locatingany type of object or entity within any type of structure, regardless ofthe size of the object, the movement of the object or the size offacility. In accordance with this disclosure, the object 12 may includeany device, entity or article, living or non-living, movable orstationary, or any combination thereof. As will be described in moredetail, the system 10 may have many potential uses and offer manybenefits.

The system 10 includes a locating circuit 20 that is capable of workingin conjunction with other components of the system 10 to locate anobject 12 that the locating circuit 20 is secured to. When the system 10in use, the locating circuit 20 should correspond to the location of theobject 12, whether generally corresponding or specifically affixedthereto. For example, the locating circuit 20 may generally correspondto the object 12 if it is secured to the exterior of a box or containerthat houses the object 12. Alternatively, the locating circuit 20 may bespecifically secured to the object 12. In accordance with thisdisclosure, the locating circuit 20 may correspond to the location ofthe object 12 by any number of ways, including a locating circuit 20that is secured to, located on, positioned with or otherwise associatedwith the object 12 directly and/or a container or packaging housing theobject 12. The locating circuit 20 may continue to correspond to thelocation of the object 12 while the system 10 is in use, i.e., until thelocating circuit 20 is removed from its location proximate to the object12. Any other configurations for corresponding the location of thelocating circuit 20 with the location of the object 12 may also be used,all of which are considered within the scope of the present disclosure.

The locating circuit 20 may be permanently secured to the object 12 orremovably secured to the object 12, which may depend on the type ofobject 12. For example, the locating circuit 20 may be integral with aband (wrist, ankle or other appendage), an identification badge, oranother wearable article that is removably secured to a human being. Thehuman being, who may be a patient, doctor or visitor of a hospital ormedical facility, may secure the wearable article having the locatingcircuit 20 on their person for a predetermined shortened period of time,i.e., a work shift, or for a long period of time, such as an extendedhospital stay. For example, the system 10 may be used within a hospitalmaternity ward, wherein the locating circuit 20 is affixed to the leg ofa newborn child with an ankle band soon after the child is born. Inanother example, a locating circuit 20 may be embedded within the IDbadge of a doctor, thereby allowing the doctor's location within thehospital to be known by the system 10.

The locating circuit 20 may include one or a variety of different typesof circuits, transmitters, transmitting devices, computerized chips,computer-compatible chips, or other electronic circuitry. The number andtype of circuits included with the locating circuit 20 is dependent onthe design and functionality of the locating circuit 20, all of whichare considered within the scope of the present disclosure. The locatingcircuit 20 may be compatible with any of the applicable Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards and may becompatible with ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, wherein the locatingcircuit 20 may run on a low power supply, such as a small battery, andbe used at low energy levels for short-range, high-bandwidthcommunications. For example, the locating circuit 20 may be compatiblewith IEEE 802.15.4a UWB, any WIFI™ enabled device, or any othercommunication medium. As an example, one type of locating circuit 20 maybe a 802.15.4a UWB chip produced and sold by DecaWave of Dublin,Ireland.

The locating circuit 20 may include many other characteristics orfeatures to enhance the utility of the system 10. For example, thelocating circuit 20 may have a small size, thereby allowing it to fitwithin various wristbands, ankle bands or other articles that aresecured to an object 12. This may include a locating circuit 20 with asize of approximately 7.0 sq mm, but may also include sizes smaller orlarger than 7.0 sq mm. The locating circuit 20 may be small enough to beeasily attached to an object 12 with many types of fasteners, includingadhesives, mechanical fasteners, hook and loop fasteners, with integralconnections or any other connections or fasteners available. Thelocating circuit 20 may also run on any type of power source, and maycommonly only require a minimal amount of power that can be supplied bya battery. The locating circuit 20 may run on any type of battery,including any electrochemical device such as button cell batteries, AAA,AA, 9V, or another type of battery. The battery may be rechargeable,non-rechargeable, replaceable or irreplaceable, depending on the designof the locating circuit 20. Preferably, the locating circuit 20 may usea very low amount of power, such as provided from a button cell battery,which may allow the locating circuit 20 to be operational forsubstantially longer time than conventional chips. For example, thelocating circuit 20 may be operational for any number of hours, days,weeks or even years without replacing or recharging the battery, whereassome conventional chips may require recharging daily or weekly.

The monitoring units 30 are each located within a facility, such aswithin a hospital or other building. Additionally, the monitoring units30 may be located external to a building or facility, or in a structurethat is at least partially exposed to an outside atmosphere, such as anopen-air stadium. As discussed previous, the system 10 is describedherein in relation to health care facilities, such as hospitals, but thesystem 10 may be used with any facility, including retail facilities,entertainment facilities, enclosed facilities, semi-enclosed facilities,open-air facilities, or any other structure. Generally, the number ofmonitoring units 30 used with the system 10 will be dependent on thetype and size of the facility, as well as the intended use of the system10 and the volume of objects 12 being located. Any number of monitoringunits 30 may be included with the system 10, as may depend on the designof the system 10. For example, small facilities may only require a smallnumber of monitoring units 30, whereas larger, multi-storied facilitiesmay require many monitoring units 30.

The monitoring units 30 may be located in a position that is remote fromthe locating circuit 20. This may include any position that is at leasta few centimeters from the locating circuit 20, but may commonly includepositions that are more than a few centimeters, more than a meter, morethan 10 meters or more than a hundred meters from the locating circuit20. Any location of the monitoring unit 30 with respect to the locatingcircuit 20 is considered within the scope of this disclosure, and thespecific placement of the monitoring units 30 may vary depending on thesize and type of the facility that they are located in. Locations may beindoors or outdoors, and each of the individual monitoring units 30within the system 10 may have different locations from one another,which may include different distances to each other, placement ondifferent floors of a structure, and/or placement at different heightson the same floor of a structure. Different locations may generallyinclude locations where a substantial distance is present betweenindividual monitoring units 30, such as 5 meters, 10 meters, 25 meters,50 meters or any other distance. It may be advantageous for the distancebetween individual monitoring units 30 to be as great as possible,thereby reducing the number of monitoring units 30 within the system 10,which may decrease an overall cost of the system 10. The monitoringunits 30 may be positioned in substantially stationary positions, suchas affixed to the wall, ceiling or floor of a structure and may belocated indoors or outdoors. However, semi-stationary positions may alsobe used, such as movable monitoring units 30 that can be kept stationaryfor a period of time while the system 10 is in use.

As discussed previously, the number of monitoring units 30 may varydepending on the design of the system 10. However, the number ofmonitoring units 30 may also correspond to the desired result of thesystem 10, such as the desired level of accuracy of the system 10. Forexample, using only two monitoring units 30 may allow the system 10 tocalculate only a one-dimensional location of the locating circuit 20secured to the object 12, not unlike a proximity sensor, whereas usingonly three monitoring units 30 may allow the system to calculate atwo-dimensional location of the object 12. Using three or moremonitoring units 30 positioned in at least two planes, i.e., where atleast one of the three or more monitoring units 30 is in a non-planarlocation with respect to the other monitoring units 30, may allow thesystem 10 to calculate a three-dimensional location of the locatingcircuit 20. This is based on the principle that determining a locationof an object 12 requires determining the location of one positionrelative to other defined reference positions. In other words,unambiguity of a determined or calculated location occurs inone-dimensional space with two reference points, in two-dimensionalspace with three reference points and in three-dimensional space withthree or more reference points. Locating an object 12 in four-dimensionsmay also be possible, as discussed with regards to tracking the locationof an object 12 over a period of time.

The ability to locate an object 12 in three-dimensions may have manyutilities. In conventional systems using proximity sensors, a proximitysensor on one floor of a structure may detect the presence or proximityof a transmitter attached to an object 12 on a different floor. Forexample, a proximity sensor positioned on a doorway on the fourth floorof a building, and controlling access through the doorway, may sense theproximity of an object 12 on the third floor, and erroneously shut offaccess to the doorway on the fourth floor based on the sensed object 12on the third floor. This can cause inefficient and ineffective locationmonitoring, and may lead to many erroneous determinations, andultimately, many security failures. Locating an object 12 inthree-dimensions may prevent this erroneous determination, since theheight of the object 12 can be determined, and thus, an assessment ofwhat floor the object 12 is on can be made. Furthermore, locating anobject 12 in three-dimensions may also allow the system 10 to determineif an object 12 having a locating circuit 20 has changed a heightposition, due to an external cause, such as falling down, being liftedup, etc. For example, this may allow the system 10 to determine if anelderly patient has fallen, or if an infant has been lifted out of acrib, as well as many other scenarios.

The system 10 may require the positions of the monitoring units 30 to beknown positions, relative to the structure or facility that they'relocated in, and/or relative to one another. This may be achieved via anynumber of methods and devices, including determining the locations ofthe monitoring units 30, calculating the locations of the monitoringunits 30 relative to one another, using a positioning device, such asGlobal Positioning System (GPS), or any other similar system. Asdiscussed later, the positions of the monitoring units 30 may be knownby other components of the system 10, such as the calculator 60, and maybe used in calculating the position of the object 12.

The system 10 uses an omnidirectional signal 40, or a plurality ofomnidirectional signals 40 that are intermittently communicated betweenthe locating circuit 20 and the plurality of monitoring units 30. Theomnidirectional signal 40 may include any type of signal characteristic,and may be transmitted at Ultra Wide Band (UWB) and WiFi™ frequencies,as well as other frequencies of other communication mediums. Preferably,transmission occurs between frequencies of between 5.0 GHz and 9.0 GHzand/or greater than 9.0 GHz. A frequency of at least 4.2 GHz mayovercome absorption of the omnidirectional signal 40 by variousobstacles, namely portions of the human body. One of the uses of thesystem 10 is to determine the location of a human who has a locatingcircuit 20 affixed to their person with a wristband or similar device.The position of the locating circuit 20 proximate to the human's bodymay cause the body to absorb or delay some of or the entireomnidirectional signal 40 depending on its frequency. Likewise, thelocation of a human body between the locating circuit 20 and one of themonitoring units 30 may absorb some or all of the omnidirectional signal40. Absorption of the omnidirectional signal 40 may interfere with thetiming of transmission of the omnidirectional signal 40, which in turn,may affect the accuracy of the system 10. Other obstacles may alsoabsorb the omnidirectional signal 40, including building structures likewalls and floors, large pieces of equipment, and other structures.

It has been determined through experimentation and testing that anomnidirectional signal 40 transmitted at a frequency of at least 4.2 GHzmay overcome a substantial portion of any absorption of theomnidirectional signal 40. Thus, transmitting the omnidirectional signal40 at a frequency of at least 4.2 GHz may allow the system 10 tofunction successfully. Furthermore, it has also been determined thattransmitting the omnidirectional signal 40 at a frequency of at least5.0 GHz, or between 5.0 GHz and 9.0 GHz may overcome substantially allabsorption of the omnidirectional signal 40 by a human body, or otherobstacles. Accordingly, the system 10 may emit the omnidirectionalsignal 40 above 4.2 GHz, but preferably above 5.0 GHz, and morepreferably between 5.0 GHz and 9.0 GHz. Transmission at or above 9.0 GHzmay overcome substantially 100% of any biological signal absorption.Transmission of the omnidirectional signal at approximately 9.0 GHz mayallow the system 10 to determine the location of the locating circuit 20secured to the object 12 without interference from biological signalabsorption. It is noted that other emission frequencies may also beused, including more precise frequency ranges or frequencies above 9.0GHz, as may depend on the design and use of the system 10. Any frequencyemission is considered within the scope of the present disclosure.

The omnidirectional signal 40 may be communicated between the locatingcircuit 20 and the plurality of monitoring units 30 in a variety ofways, including via one-way communications, two-way communications,three-way communications with another component of the system 10, or anyother type of communication. For example, the omnidirectional signal 40may commonly be communicated or transmitted from the locating circuit 20to the plurality of monitoring units 30. In one of many alternatives,the plurality of monitoring units 30 may each transmit theomnidirectional signal 40 to the locating circuit 20. As can be seen,the omnidirectional signal 40 may be transmitted from and received byeither or both of the locating circuit 20 and the monitoring units 30.The locating circuit 20 and/or the plurality of monitoring units 30 mayeach include any number or type of receiver, transmitter and/ortransceiver.

A system 10 may include many locating circuits 20 each transmitting manyomnidirectional signals 40 to a plurality of monitoring units 30. Forexample, a plurality of locating circuits 20 may be used in a structurewhere many objects 12 are desired to be located at the same or similartimes. Each of the locating circuits 20 may be secured to an object 12,and each may transmit an omnidirectional signal 40 to any number ofmonitoring units 30. The plurality of monitoring units 30 may eachtransmit the omnidirectional signal 40 to the plurality of locatingcircuit 20, as the case may be. Any number of locating circuits 20 andobjects 12 may be located within the system 10, including 10, 50,hundreds or thousands of locating circuits 20, which may be locatedsimultaneously or at intervals, all of which are considered within thescope of the present disclosure.

The calculator 60 may determine a duration of transmission time of theomnidirectional signal 40. Accordingly, the calculator 60 may includeany number of computerized devices, having any type of processors and avariety of computerized programs capable of performing calculations. Forexample, the calculator 60 may include a computer program carrying outinstructions on a computer processor. The calculator 60 may determine aduration of transmission time of the omnidirectional signal 40 for eachsignal communication in a variety of ways, all of which may be capableof determining the duration of the transmission time of theomnidirectional signal 40 between a start transmission time and an endtransmission time, and between the components that the omnidirectionalsignal 40 is being communicated between. For example, the calculator 60may determine the duration of the transmission time for eachomnidirectional signal 40 that is transmitted from the locating circuit20 to each of the plurality of monitoring units 30, respectively. Thus,if a system 10 includes six monitoring units 30 and one locating circuit20, then the calculator 60 may determine six transmission timedurations.

It is noted that the calculator 60 may determine any number oftransmission time durations between any number of monitoring units 30and locating circuits, which includes determining only the transmissiontime durations of a portion of the total transmitted omnidirectionalsignals 40. For example, if a system 10 has one hundred (100) monitoringunits 30, each receiving an omnidirectional signal 40 from only onelocating circuit 20, the calculator 60 may determine some, all or anyportion of the total number of transmitted omnidirectional signals 40.Similarly, the calculator 60 may be capable of determining thetransmission durations of a plurality of omnidirectional signals 40 thatare transmitted between a plurality of locating circuits 20 and aplurality of monitoring units 30, respectively. The number ofdeterminations that the calculator 60 makes may depend on the number oftransmission durations required for calculating a location. Althoughonly three or more monitoring units 30, and thus only three transmissiondurations, are needed for determining a location in three-dimensionalspace, additional transmission durations may be used to verify acalculated location.

The calculator 60 may determine the transmission durations in a numberof ways. For example, the locating circuits 20 may each include embeddedfirmware that calculates time on board, which may be used by thecalculator 60 to calculate and triangulate a three-dimensional locationbased on the synchronized timing of the omnidirectional signals 40received. The firmware within the locating circuits 20 may include dataindicative of a time-stamp, such as a start time time-stamp of thetransmission. When the omnidirectional signal 40 is received at amonitoring unit 30, the monitoring unit 30 may place a second time-stampon the omnidirectional signal 40, indicative of a received time.Accordingly, a duration of transmission time may be calculated based onthe time-stamps.

The calculator 60 determines the transmission durations in other waystoo. For example, the calculator 60 may include software that is capableof facilitating two-way ranging between the locating circuits 20 and themonitoring units 30, and/or real-time locating. Two-way ranging mayinclude independently ranging three or more fixed monitoring units 30with known locations to at least one locating circuit 20. The calculator60 may then calculate three distances, which define three circles to apoint of intersection, which may be determined to be the location of thelocating circuit 20. Other ways may include using a Time Difference ofArrival (TDOA) scheme utilizing a clock that is synchronized betweeneach of the monitoring units 30. In this design, each of the locatingcircuits 20 may transmit the omnidirectional signal 40 at predeterminedintervals. Each of the monitoring units 30 may receive the transmittedomnidirectional signal 40 and timestamp them. To ensure accuracy withinthe system 10, clock synchronization must be completed, whereby thetimestamps of each of the omnidirectional signals 40 received must besynchronized. The calculator 60 eventually calculates the position ofthe locating circuit 20 based on the time-stamped omnidirectionalsignals 40.

Another way to determine the duration of transmission time is bydetermining the precise duration of the transmission time for each ofthe omnidirectional signals 40. For example, if the omnidirectionalsignal 40 is received at three monitoring units 30, the calculator 60may determine three durations of time, i.e., durations represented byvariables a, b and c. As discussed above, this may be accomplished byprogramming the locating circuit 20 to transmit the omnidirectionalsignal 40 at a precise time, coordinating that precise time with thecalculator 60, and then determining the duration of time between whenthe omnidirectional signal 40 was transmitted and when it is received ateach of the monitoring units 30. Alternatively, the omnidirectionalsignal 40 may carry data indicative of a start transmission time. Thecalculator 60 may then determine a received or end transmission time atthe monitoring unit 30 and compare the start and end times with eachother. It is noted that the determined durations of transmission timemay, in some instances, be the same duration. This may indicate that thelocating circuit 20 is located exactly halfway between two monitoringunits 30.

In one of many alternatives, the calculator 60 may determine adifference in the duration of transmission time of the omnidirectionalsignal 40 relative to one monitoring unit 30 of the plurality ofmonitoring units 30 and the duration of transmission time of theomnidirectional signal relative to another monitoring unit 30 of theplurality of monitoring units 30. For example, the calculator 60 maydetermine a first transmission duration, or a time of receiving theomnidirectional signal 40 at one monitoring unit 30, and then comparethat time with the times that other monitoring units 30 receive theomnidirectional signal 40. In this case, the durations of transmissionmay be given in relative variables, i.e., n₁, n₂, n₃, etc., or a+n₁,a+n₂, a+n₃, etc., where variable a is the one determined transmissionduration and each subscript n stands for the difference in time betweenreceiving a at one monitoring unit 30 and each of the additionalmonitoring units 30.

It is contemplated that the system 10 may include a large number ofobjects 12, each having a locating circuit 20 secured thereto, and eachlocated at substantially the same time. When determining the location ofeach of the objects 12, the calculator 60 30 may need to make asignificant number of measurements and/or determinations in a shortperiod of time. For example, in many large hospitals, hundreds if notthousands of patients, medical and facility personnel, includingdoctors, nurses, technicians, secretaries, janitors, etc., may belocated with the system 10. If only 100 of these people are desired tobe located in one second, each using only one locating circuit 20 andthree monitoring units 20, three hundred calculations may need to bemade in that one second. However, with larger facilities, tens orhundreds of monitoring units 30 may be used, which may compound thenumber of measurements that must be made. To limit the number ofmeasurements, to limit computation or measurement time, the calculator60 may be programmed, instructed or choose to only determine thetransmission duration of the omnidirectional signals 40 received at aspecific monitoring unit 30. In other words, only a few of an availabletotal monitoring units 30 may be required to determine the transmissionduration of an omnidirectional signal 40. This may be specified by adistance from the monitoring unit 30 to the locating circuit 20, acarrying load of the monitoring unit 30, the number of locating circuits20 in a given area, or other factors.

The calculator 60 is in communication with each of the plurality ofmonitoring units 30 and calculates a location of the locating circuit 20using the determined duration of transmission time for each of theplurality of monitoring units 30 and the locating circuit 20.Communication to and from the calculator 60 may include anycommunication system and the calculator 60 may include or be embeddedwith any device capable of performing one or more calculations. This mayinclude a computerized device having a processor that runs a quantity ofcomputer-readable code, where the code may have instructions forperforming the calculations, such as a personal computer (PC) or aserver. The calculations that the calculator 60 makes may besubstantially based off of the determined transmission durations for theomnidirectional signal 40. The calculator 60 may compare the differenttransmission durations, and determine a location of the locating circuit20 that the omnidirectional signal 40 was transmitted from. As discussedpreviously, the location of the locating circuit 20 may be expressed ina variety of ways, including in one, two or three-dimensions to anaccuracy at or beyond at least 0.1 meters of a true location of thelocating circuit 20.

The calculator 60 may calculate the location of the locating circuitusing one or more timing algorithms. A timing algorithm may bevariable-based expression that provides a numerical representation of alocation based off of inputs the determined transmission durations fromeach of the plurality of monitoring unit 30 and known mathematicalconcepts. This essentially eliminates the need for conventional methodsand systems for determining a location, including pinging, RFID basedsystems, ultrasonic systems or radar systems, that rely on the timing ofa returned transmission signal. The system 10 ultimately determines thelocation of the object 12 with the determined transmission durations, ora comparison thereof. Accordingly, determining the transmissiondurations to a precise degree is necessary for accuracy within thesystem 10. The timing algorithms may allow the system 10 to determinethe location of the object 12 to a high degree of accuracy, such aswithin 10 cm in a three-dimensional space. However, the system 10 iscapable of accuracy to any degree, including those less than or greaterthan 10 cm in a three-dimensional space.

It is noted that any of the abovementioned features may be carried outon any number of calculators 60 that are embedded with variouscomponents of the system 10. For example, the portion of the calculator60 that determines transmission durations may be distinct or separatefrom the portion of the calculator 60 that determines a location basedon the transmission durations. Similarly, other processes and stepswithin the system 10 may be carried out by the plurality of monitoringunits 30, the locating circuit 20, and/or the calculator 60, or anycombination thereof. Any of these components may include any number ofcomputerized processors, storage databases or software, as may bedependent on the design of the system 10. Accordingly, any variations tothe system 10 as described herein are considered within the scope of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustration of the system for locating anobject 110, in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure. As can be seen, the locating circuit 120 is housedwithin an ankle band that is attached to an object 112 depicted as anewborn baby. The locating circuit 120 may also be attached to a wristor any other part of the body. The locating circuit 120 transmits anomnidirectional signal 140 that is received at a number of monitoringunits 130. The monitoring units 130 are in communication with thecalculator 160 via a number of communication lines 132. Thecommunication lines 132 may be wired or wireless. The calculator 160 ishoused in a computerized device 155, which may be any type ofcomputerized device, such as a laptop, desktop PC, server, or similarcomputing device. A display device 170 is in communication with thecalculator 160. The display device 170 may include any type of displaydevice, such as a computer monitor, television, tablet display, personalelectronic display, or any other display device. The display device 170may be in communication with the calculator 160 via any communicationconnection, including over a network or the Internet. For example, thedisplay device 170 may be communicating with the calculator 160 via awebsite, whereby a user of the system 110 opens the website to view agraphical depiction of a navigatable structure 172 (FIG. 3) that thesystem 110 is used with.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a graphical depiction of a navigatablestructure 172 with the system for locating an object 110, in accordancewith the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Thegraphical depiction of a navigatable structure 172 may be any graphicaldepiction displayed on the display device 170, which includes a map orblueprint of a structure. The graphical depiction of a navigatablestructure 172 may include structure features, such as hallways, rooms174, doorways 176 or any other features. Additionally, the graphicaldepiction of a navigatable structure 172 may include depictions ofsystem 110 components, such as the monitoring units 130 and the locatingcircuit 120.

The graphical depiction of a navigatable structure 172 may depict theobject 112 having the locating circuit 120 in the location that thesystem 110 determines the object 112 to be in. For example, in FIG. 3,the object 112, which is depicted as a human being, is illustrated asbeing within a room and located near an exterior wall. Other locationsmay also be depicted in the graphical depiction of a navigatablestructure 172, such as those in relation to a room number, a floornumber, a structure sector or department, a coordinate within thestructure or a room thereof, or any other location. The type and styleof the graphical depiction of a navigatable structure 172 may depend onthe type of structure and the use of the system 110. For example, thegraphical depiction of a navigatable structure 172 may include athree-dimensional depiction of a structure whereby a user of the system110 can rotate, move or navigate through the depiction. Other graphicaldepictions of a navigatable structure 172 may be aerial viewtwo-dimensional depictions or cross-sectional two-dimensionaldepictions.

The graphical depiction of a navigatable structure 172 may furtherinclude one or more identification elements 180 that are assigned to thelocating circuit 120. In FIG. 3, the identification element 180 isillustrated as a tag containing identification information that isassigned to the object 112 or the locating circuit 120. Otheridentification elements 180 may also be used, such as virtual tags withnames, descriptions, ID number, reference number or any otheridentification characteristic. When a system 110 includes multipleobjects 112 being located with multiple locating circuits 120,identification elements 180 may become necessary to decipher betweeneach of the objects 112 and locating circuits 120.

With reference to FIGS. 2-3, the system 110 may include anidentification system 182 to assign, organize or otherwise facilitatethe identification elements 180. The identification system 182 may be acomputerized program enabled on the computerized device 155. In use,each type of object may be assigned a categorized identification element180, which may be color-coded or numerically coded. This may includecategorizing the identification elements 180 between doctors andpatients, human beings and non-living objects, wheelchairs and medicine,etc. This may also include identification elements 180 that allow a userof the system 110 to view the name of an object 112 depicted in thegraphical depiction of a navigatable structure 172. For example, thesystem 110 may allow a user to see that Dr. Smith is located 1 meterfrom the entrance door of the operating room D on the third floor. Toaccomplish this, an identification number or serial number on eachlocating circuit 120 may be assigned to correspond to a specific object112, and that correspondence may be entered into the computerizedprogram. A user may then use any number of filters or menus to select ornarrow which objects 112 to view on the graphical depiction of anavigatable structure 172.

An instruction mechanism 190 may also be included in the system 110. Theinstruction mechanism 190 may be used to send one or more instructionsto an instruction-receiving device external to the system 110. As isshown in FIG. 2, the instruction mechanism 190 may be a component withinthe computerized device 155 and may include programmable code. Theinstruction mechanism 190 may be capable of or positioned to send atleast one instruction to at least one instruction-receiving device. Forexample, the instruction-receiving device may include a doorway openingmechanism that receives an instruction to open from the instructionmechanism. Other instruction-receiving devices may include doorwayclosing devices, security devices, transportation device, lights andentertainment devices, just to name a few.

The instruction mechanism 190 may send the instruction when thecalculated location of the locating circuit 120 substantially matches apredetermined location. In other words, when the locating circuit 120secured to the object 112 is positioned at a specific location, theinstruction mechanism 190 sends an instruction to aninstruction-receiving device that may be located nearby that location.For example, the instruction mechanism 190 may send an instruction to aset of lights to turn on when a locating circuit 120 is detected nearthe set of lights. Another example may be for the instruction mechanismto open a doorway when the locating circuit 120 is within a three orfour meter area of the doorway. In yet another example, the instructionmechanism 190 may send an instruction to a locking device within adoorway to lock when a specific locating circuit 120 is positionedwithin a specified location near the doorway. A number of additionalfeatures may be included with the instruction mechanism 190, such asoverride abilities, adjustable predetermined locations and remoteinstruction-receiving devices, etc., all of which are included withinthe scope of the present disclosure.

A tracking element 195 may also be provided with the system 10. As isshown in FIG. 2, the tracking element 195 may be a component of thecomputerized device 155 and may be enabled with computerized code. Thetracking element 195 may be capable of tracking the calculated locationof a locating circuit 120 over a period of time, or throughout aplurality of times. The tracking element 195 may accomplish this byhaving a memory that stores each calculated location of the locatingcircuit 120, or any portion thereof, at a plurality of times. Thetracking element 195 may depict the stored locations on the graphicaldepiction of the navigatable structure 172, such that a user of thesystem 110 can visible see a previous location of the locating circuit120.

The tracking element 195 may be beneficial in providing historicalinformation on the location of an object 112. For example, a locatingcircuit 120 may be secured to a drug rehabilitation patient in a medicalfacility, where the patient is restricted from leaving his or her room.If the patient were to escape his or her room, a user of the system 110could use the tracking element 195 to see where the patient currentlyis, and where the patient has been since his or her escape. Accordingly,the tracking element 195 could indicate if the patient has accessedareas of the medical facility where medicine is stored. The trackingelement 195 may also be used for tracking locating circuits 120 for anyother reason, all of which are considered within the scope of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart 200 illustrating method of locating the object 12,in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. Itshould be noted that any process descriptions or blocks in flow chartsshould be understood as representing modules, segments, portions ofcode, or steps that include one or more instructions for implementingspecific logical functions in the process, and alternate implementationsare included within the scope of the present disclosure in whichfunctions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed,including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending onthe functionality involved, as would be understood by those reasonablyskilled in the art of the present disclosure.

As is shown by block 202, a locating circuit may be substantiallysecured to the object. A plurality of monitoring units is remotelypositioned from the locating circuit, wherein each of the plurality ofmonitoring units is positioned in a different location (block 204). Anomnidirectional signal is intermittently communicated between thelocating circuit and the plurality of monitoring units, wherein theomnidirectional signal is transmitted at a frequency of at least 4.2 GHz(block 206). A duration of transmission time of the omnidirectionalsignal for each of the plurality of monitoring units and the locatingcircuit is determined (block 208). A location of the locating circuit iscalculated using the determined duration of transmission time of theomnidirectional signal for each of the plurality of monitoring units andthe locating circuit (block 210).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart 300 illustrating method of locating the object 12of FIG. 4, in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure. It should be noted that any process descriptions or blocksin flow charts should be understood as representing modules, segments,portions of code, or steps that include one or more instructions forimplementing specific logical functions in the process, and alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the present disclosurein which functions may be executed out of order from that shown ordiscussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order,depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by thosereasonably skilled in the art of the present disclosure.

As is shown by block 302, the calculated location of the locatingcircuit may be graphically displayed and expressed in at least threedimensions. As described in relation to the calculator 60 of FIGS. 1-2,at least one timing algorithm may be run (block 304). An omnidirectionalsignal may be intermittently communicated between the locating circuitand the plurality of monitoring units at a frequency between 5 GHz and 9GHz (block 306). The location of the locating circuit may be calculatedto at least within 0.1 meters of a true location of the locating circuit(block 308). At least one instruction may be sent to at least oneinstruction-receiving device when the calculated location of thelocating circuit substantially matches a predetermined location (block310). Any number of additional steps, or variations thereof may also beincluded in the methods described herein, including any of the methods,processes, functioning or steps described with respect to FIGS. 1-3above.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, aremerely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for aclear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variationsand modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments of thedisclosure without departing substantially from the spirit andprinciples of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andthe present disclosure and protected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for locating an object comprising: alocating circuit substantially secured to the object; a plurality ofmonitoring units positioned remotely from the locating circuit, eachpositioned in a different location; an omnidirectional signalintermittently communicated between the locating circuit and theplurality of monitoring units; and a calculator in communication witheach of the plurality of monitoring units, wherein the calculatordetermines a duration of transmission time of the omnidirectional signalbetween each of the monitoring units and the locating circuit andcalculates a location of the locating circuit using the determinedduration of transmission time for each of the monitoring units and thelocating circuit.
 2. The system for locating an object of claim 1,wherein the location of the locating circuit is expressed inthree-dimensions.
 3. The system for locating an object of claim 1,wherein the location of the locating circuit is accurate within at least0.1 meters of a true location of the locating circuit.
 4. The system forlocating an object of claim 1, wherein the calculator determines adifference in the duration of transmission time of the omnidirectionalsignal relative to at least a first monitoring unit and the duration oftransmission time of the omnidirectional signal relative to at least asecond monitoring unit.
 5. The system for locating an object of claim 1,wherein the omnidirectional signal is transmitted at a frequency between5 GHz and 9 GHz.
 6. The system for locating an object of claim 1,wherein the plurality of monitoring units are positioned in non-planarlocations.
 7. The system for locating an object of claim 1, wherein theobject further comprises a human being, wherein the locating circuit issecured to the human being with a band.
 8. The system for locating anobject of claim 1, wherein the calculator calculates the location of thelocating circuit using at least one timing algorithm.
 9. The system forlocating an object of claim 1, further comprising an instructionmechanism in communication with the calculator, the instructionmechanism positioned to send at least one instruction to at least oneinstruction-receiving device when the calculated location of thelocating circuit substantially matches a predetermined location.
 10. Thesystem for locating an object of claim 1, further comprising a trackingelement, wherein the tracking element stores the calculated location ofthe locating circuit at a plurality of times.
 11. The system forlocating an object of claim 1, further comprising a display device incommunication with the calculator, wherein the display devicegraphically displays the calculated location relative to a graphicaldepiction of a navigatable structure.
 12. The system for locating anobject of claim 1, further comprising an identification element assignedto the locating circuit, wherein the identification element correspondsto at least one characteristic of the object.
 13. A method of locatingan object, the method comprising the steps of: substantially securing alocating circuit to the object; remotely positioning a plurality ofmonitoring units from the locating circuit, wherein each of theplurality of monitoring units is positioned in a different location;intermittently communicating an omnidirectional signal between thelocating circuit and the plurality of monitoring units, wherein theomnidirectional signal is transmitted at a frequency of at least 4.2GHz; determining a duration of transmission time of the omnidirectionalsignal between each of the monitoring units and the locating circuit;and calculating a location of the locating circuit using the determinedduration of transmission time of the omnidirectional signal for each ofthe monitoring units and the locating circuit.
 14. The method of claim13, further comprising the steps of: graphically displaying thecalculated location of the locating circuit; and expressing thecalculated location of the locating circuit in at least threedimensions.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of calculatinga location of the locating circuit from the duration of transmissiontime further comprises running at least one timing algorithm.
 16. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the step of intermittently communicating anomnidirectional signal between the locating circuit and the plurality ofmonitoring units further comprises transmitting the omnidirectionalsignal at a frequency between 5 GHz and 9 GHz.
 17. The method of claim13, wherein the step of calculating a location of the locating circuitfrom the duration of transmission time further comprises calculating thelocation of the locating circuit to at least within 0.1 meters of a truelocation of the locating circuit.
 18. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising the step sending at least one instruction to at least oneinstruction-receiving device when the calculated location of thelocating circuit substantially matches a predetermined location.
 19. Asystem for locating an object within a structure, the system comprising:a locating circuit substantially secured to the object, the locatingcircuit having an omnidirectional signal intermittently transmitted; aplurality of monitoring units, each position in a distinct,substantially stationary location, wherein the plurality of monitoringunits are located in at least two vertical planes, and wherein theplurality of monitoring units receive the omnidirectional signal; acalculator in communication with each of the plurality of monitoringunits, wherein the calculator determines a duration of transmission timeof the omnidirectional signal between the locating circuit and each ofthe plurality of monitoring units and calculates a location of thelocating circuit using the determined duration of transmission for eachof the plurality of monitoring units and the locating circuit; and adisplay element displaying a graphical representation of the structure,wherein the calculated location of the locating circuit is expressed inat least three dimensions, relative to the graphical representation ofthe structure.
 20. The system for locating an object within a structureof claim 19, wherein the calculator determines a duration oftransmission time of the omnidirectional signal between the locatingcircuit and each of the plurality of monitoring units by calculating adifference in the receiving time of the omnidirectional signal at eachof the plurality of monitoring units between each of the plurality ofmonitoring units.